State Labor Department Releases Preliminary November 2013 Area Unemployment Rates

The New York State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for November 2013, which are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s unemployment rate relies in part on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households (out of more than 7 million) in New York State.

The state’s private sector job count increased by 141,700 from November 2012 to November 2013. As reported last week, the state’s unemployment rate was 7.4% in November 2013. The economy added 4,300 private sector jobs in November 2013, bringing the state’s job count to a record high of 7,493,500.

Local Area Unemployment Rates* (%), November 2012 and November 2013 (not seasonally adjusted)

*Data are preliminary and subject to change

November

2013*

November

2012

Upstate NY (52-co. area)

6.6

7.7

Metro Areas

6.4

7.5

Albany-Schenectady-Troy

5.6

6.8

Binghamton

7.1

8.1

Buffalo-Niagara Falls

6.7

7.8

Elmira

7.3

8.2

Glens Falls

6.7

7.9

Ithaca

4.4

5.3

Kingston

6.8

8.1

Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown

6.2

7.4

Rochester

6.3

7.4

Syracuse

6.7

7.8

Utica-Rome

6.9

8.2

Non-metro Counties

7.3

8.4

Downstate NY (10-co. area)

7.1

8.0

New York City

8.0

8.6

Suburban Counties

5.4

6.9

Nassau-Suffolk

5.4

7.1

Putnam-Rockland-Westchester

5.4

6.7

The data in the table above are not seasonally adjusted, which means they reflect seasonal influences (e.g., holiday and summer hires). Therefore, the most valid comparisons with this type of data are year-to-year comparisons of the same month; for example, November 2012 versus November 2013.

Unemployment rate highlights in November 2013:

The counties in New York State with the lowest unemployment rates include:

Tompkins County (4.4%)

Putnam County (5.0%)

Nassau County (5.1%)

Saratoga County (5.2%)

Rockland County (5.3%)

The counties in New York State with the highest unemployment rates include:

Bronx County (11.2%)

Jefferson County (9.0%)

Kings County (8.7%)

Hamilton County (8.5%)

Orleans County (8.5%)

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are the most up-to-date estimates of persons employed and unemployed by place of residence. Estimates are available for New York State, labor market regions, metropolitan areas, counties, and municipalities of at least 25,000.